Janović is preparing a purge in the National Security Agency modeled on the Democrats’ „vetting“ in the Ministry of Interior
The Director of the National Security Agency is trying, following the adoption of amendments to the Law on the NSA, to carry out a purge of politically unsuitable staff as soon as possible. All of this follows the example of the „vetting“ that Minister Danilo Šaranović and Police Directorate Director Lazar Šćepanović have been conducting for months, under the orders of Democrat leaders Aleksa Bečić and Boris Bogdanović. However, the majority of Agency employees have refused to sign the offered retirement forms
How to quickly get rid of politically unsuitable staff in the National Security Agency?
This was the central topic of several meetings organized by NSA Director Ivica Janović with a narrow circle of senior officials within the Agency. Sources from E Television emphasize that one of the key conclusions of these closed meetings of the NSA leadership was that the amendments to the Law on the NSA, adopted on March 6 by the parliamentary majority in the Parliament of Montenegro, should be implemented as soon as possible.
CONTROVERSIAL AMENDMENT
With these amendments, Amendment 10 provided the possibility of early retirement for NSA officers - by decision of the Agency’s director.
It was foreseen that the Director of the Agency could exceptionally issue retirement decisions:
„Exceptionally, notwithstanding the conditions prescribed by the law regulating pension and disability insurance, an authorized Agency officer’s employment may be terminated by a decision of the Agency Director, with their written consent or at their request, if they meet the following conditions: at least 50 years of age; at least 20 years of pensionable service; at least 10 years of work in the Agency in authorized positions...“
However, following suggestions from Brussels, that amendment was removed, leaving only the possibility of retirement upon reaching standard retirement age.
NO „VOLUNTEERS“
On Janović’s orders, the HR department prepared a form for employees to declare whether they wished to retire. However, sources from within the Agency say that more than 90 percent of employees stated that they plan to retire, but only shortly before Montenegro’s accession to the European Union.
The main reason for postponing early retirement is the severance pay, amounting to only three monthly salaries.
Janović and the management team assessed that it was unacceptable to wait at least another two years, possibly beyond 2028, for a larger group of employees to retire. Therefore, it was agreed at a narrower collegium that steps must be taken to influence employees.
At the beginning of last week, a new declaration form was created, with a clear indication of the deadline for the offer.
THE FORM
In a copy obtained by Portal ETV, the head of Department II informs colleagues that employees can apply for retirement until April 24 of this year.
- After the completion of employee declarations via the Form regarding the exercise of the right to old-age pension, and after processing the submitted data, we inform you that employees who have been determined to meet the conditions for retirement may submit individual requests to Department II by April 24, 2026 - the accompanying notice states.
However, since the form requires specifying the exact retirement date, which is objectively impossible to predict, a large number of employees refused to sign the request. At the same time, several employees contacted lawyers to obtain legal opinions.
The consulted lawyers unanimously assessed that such a request toward Agency employees represents a form of abuse of official position and that it undermines legally guaranteed employee rights.
MOTIVES AND DEADLINE FOR COMPLETING THE „VETTING“
Sources from the Government of Montenegro indicate that Milojko Spajić personally asked Ivica Janović to initiate the early retirement of „unsuitable“ staff in the NSA as soon as possible.
All of this was the result of pressure from Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić to carry out „vetting“ in the NSA as well - the removal of politically unsuitable personnel - just as has been happening for some time in the Ministry of Interior under Minister Danilo Šaranović and Police Director Lazar Šćepanović.
It is evident: the leadership of Spajić’s Europe Now Movement has begun copying the practices of Bečić’s Democrats and is moving toward rapid hiring of their own party personell in institutions they control.
A deadline has also been set - the end of autumn - for completing the „vetting operation in the NSA“.
The only question is whether the European Commission will react, as Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has promised that Brussels will closely monitor the implementation of the controversial legislative amendments.